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What is Microsoft 365?

What is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft has long dominated the productivity software space with its flagship application suite, Microsoft Office. In recent years, however, much of their focus has been on Office 365, which now has more than 120 million commercial monthly users. However, some enterprise customers are still wary of migrating to Office 365 due to its use of cloud storage and the fact that security concerns are at an all-time high. Businesses have traditionally struggled to secure their Office 365 applications and integrate them with other device management and compliance tools. To address those concerns, Microsoft introduced Microsoft 365 in August of 2017.

What is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 is a bundled subscription that offers organizations a modern platform for integrating and securing their core Microsoft products, including Office 365. Microsoft 365 includes Windows 10, Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS). With Microsoft 365, customers get scalable cloud services, device management and security in one integrated package. Microsoft 365 is ideal for businesses that want to manage workplace productivity through a single solution. The subscription offers these core products together, which now integrate seamlessly to streamline management and collaboration tasks.

There are two main types of Microsoft 365 bundles to choose from: Microsoft 365 Business and Microsoft 365 Enterprise.

What is Microsoft 365 Business?

Microsoft 365 Business is designed for small and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 300 users. With Microsoft 365 Business, companies get Office 365 plus basic security and mobile device management (MDM) features.

What is Microsoft 365 Enterprise?

For large organizations with more intricate IT needs, Microsoft 365 Enterprise offers a broader selection of data security and mobility management capabilities. M365 Enterprise comes in three tiers: E5, E3 and F1.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 offers the full spectrum of features within Microsoft 365. It includes every threat protection tool for Windows, Office 365 and Azure. It also provides advanced compliance and analytics tools that aren’t available with E3 or F1.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 gives you access to core products and features in Microsoft 365. The subscription includes limited threat protection tools, including Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics and Windows Defender Antivirus, and device management tools like Intune and Windows AutoPilot.

Microsoft 365 F1 is geared toward first-line workers, such as customer service and support staff. The F1 tier comes with standard Office 365 applications and limited threat protection tools, including Device Guard and Windows Defender Antivirus.

Should You Migrate to Microsoft 365?

If you already have an Office 365 subscription, should you migrate to Microsoft 365? Microsoft 365 gives you all the Office 365 applications, plus additional security, data loss prevention, and compliance tools. By switching to Microsoft 365, you can avoid the hassle of managing and purchasing services from multiple providers and focus more resources on running your business.

Shifting to Microsoft 365 also streamlines administrative processes. When you rely on different applications that don’t integrate naturally, managing users and tasks can become a tedious process. Using Microsoft 365, admins can create policies, monitor threats and manage devices through a single console in the Microsoft 365 administration center.